Chocolate Pudding Brownies (Vegan & Paleo)

Do you get overly excited for Valentine’s day and everything that goes with it? Or, are you like me and it slips your mind until the day of. I don’t know how I forget about all of the romance seeing as we are inundated with ads for Valentine’s day. I will not forget this year! Since I started food blogging it seems like every holiday that has the capacity to have food involved is now more present than ever. Plus, Valentine’s day means using heart shaped cookie cutters and lots of pink and red foods- and who doesn’t like colourful foods? So this year, I will remember Valentine’s Day and the even more important, Galentine’s Day.

Unfortunately for me I will not be eating these brownies though come Valentine’s day because I started Whole 30 – which means I will be skipping the desserts. And you know what? I’m OK with it. I did however, test and retest, and retest again (you know for quality control) so that YOU can make the Chocolate Pudding Brownies. As for me, I will be at home with my beau, cooking up something else delicious that is Whole30 friendly (which you may even see on this blog soon!)

The secret ingredient in this recipe is half an avocado. It makes the brownies dense and fudgy. Sometimes I like cake-y brownies but sometimes I just want something really rich and decadent. These brownies fit into the rich and decadent category. I find that cutting them and storing them in the fridge is the way to go. I almost prefer them out of the fridge! Beware though- be sure to let these brownies cool completely before you try to cut them or they may fall apart on you!

Because It is Valentine’s day and I like to make my food pretty I have added all kinds of toppings. Raspberries, blood oranges and zest or even your favourite icing would all go really well with these.

Since it’s Thursday, here is a list of some things I have been enjoying around the interweb and elsewhere:

Chocolate Pudding Brownies (Vegan & Paleo)

These are dense, rich brownies that are vegan and paleo! The secret ingredient is avocado which makes them fudgy and a little gooey, almost like a chocolate pudding cake.

Author:Sweet Lizzy

Prep Time:15 minutes

Cook Time:35 minutes

Total Time:50 minutes

Category:Dessert

Method:Baking

Cuisine:vegan, dairy free, paleo

Ingredients

2 tbsp ground chia seeds

7 tbsp warm water

2 oz bakers 100% chocolate

1/2 ripe medium sized avocado

1/2 cup apple sauce

3/4 cup almond flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp sea salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Add the warm water the the ground chia to make a chia egg. Whisk it with a fork and set aside.

Melt chocolate in a double broiler over medium heat.

Meanwhile, in a bowl mash the avocado with the apple sauce so there are no chunks of avocado. Add the chia egg, vanilla, melted chocolate and stir. Add in the dry ingredients- almond flour, sea salt, baking soda, coconut sugar and cocoa powder. Stir until well incorporated.

Pour the batter into an 8×8 parchment lined pan.

Cook for 30-35 minutes.

Let brownies cool completely before cutting.

These taste great the next day out of the fridge!

Notes

You can easily add in some orange zest and 1 tbsp orange juice for that chocolate orange flavour.